04 December, 2006

Three Royal Marines have been injured in a Taliban suicide attack on a convoy in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan. From the BBC,

The suicide bombers had attempted to ram the convoy of British vehicles, the MoD said.

Officials said the marines, who are all male, had received first aid at the scene before being evacuated by UK helicopter and are receiving medical treatment.

A statement said: "One is seriously ill, while the others are in a stable condition. Their next of kin have all been informed."

We can only pray they all make a full recovery.

This is the type of isolated attack that the army must be fearing between now and next spring: isolated incidents probably intended, in part, to keep the pressure on NATO, especially those member states which, Riga notwithstanding, refuse to allow their troops to be deployed in the south; and, in part also, a demonstration of Taliban capability aimed at the forthcoming jirgas.

Update: 4.11.06

It now seems clear that civilian cars were used in an attempt to follow up the attack by preventing evacuation of the wounded men. The Herald:

British forces opened fire as they were pursued by several civilian vehicles while they tried to get the wounded marines to safety. They were trying to reach a helicopter landing spot when one of the vehicles weaved in front of them trying to block the way. Flares and warning shots were fired, but some of the vehicles continued their chase.

An investigation is being carried out into claims that civilians were injured in the gunfire. One report said that five people were killed.